# Vanderbilt University Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center for 3-Dimensional Tissue Mapping

> **NIH NIH U54** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $1,991,795

## Abstract

Project Summary
 We propose the founding of the BIOmolecular Multimodal Imaging Center (BIOMIC) at Vanderbilt
University as a Tissue Mapping Center associated with the Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP).
The mission of BIOMIC is to build a platform of integrated technologies for imaging and molecular analysis that
enables the construction of comprehensive 3-dimensional molecular atlases of human tissues. BIOMIC will
leverage the unique resources of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center and the National Research
Resource for Imaging Mass Spectrometry at Vanderbilt University along with the world-class clinical
environment of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to create a capability to characterize human tissues at
a level of understanding unrivaled by current technologies. The innovative aspect of BIOMIC is the
combination of 3-dimesional imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) with a variety of in vivo and ex vivo imaging
technologies to create new modalities of molecularly-informed medical imaging. The application of the BIOMIC
platform to organ-specific projects in kidney, pancreas, and bone will provide a new paradigm of understanding
the normal state of these organs across multiple dimensions, both molecular (e.g., lipids, metabolites, and
proteins) and spatial (e.g., whole organs to single cells). As a HuBMAP participant, the molecular atlases
generated by BIOMIC will be disseminated to collaborators worldwide to facilitate the generation and testing of
new hypotheses regarding the function of these important organ systems, enabling new insight into human
health and disease. The mission of BIOMIC is to create a platform that can efficiently acquire and integrate
multimodal imaging data sets, including IMS, histology, multiplex-IHC, magnetic resonance imaging, and high-
resolution CT imaging for the formation of comprehensive 3-D molecular atlases. This effort requires the
creation and integration of three capabilities to 1) procure and manage specimens, 2) prepare and mitigate
pre-analytical factors, and 3) acquire, process, and disseminate multimodal imaging and large-scale omics
data. The BIOMIC platform will be optimized and tested using three organ-specific projects: bone, kidney, and
pancreas.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201586
- **Project number:** 5U54DK120058-04
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** RICHARD M CAPRIOLI
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,991,795
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-24 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201586

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201586, Vanderbilt University Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center for 3-Dimensional Tissue Mapping (5U54DK120058-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201586. Licensed CC0.

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